Why Tank Crews Started Welding "Illegal" Track Shoes—Panthers Broke Down While Shermans Rolled.

November 23rd, nineteen forty-four. The frozen mud of Lorraine, France. A German Panther tank sits motionless beside a farm road, its fifty-ton bulk rendered useless by a single broken track link. The crew has been working for three hours in freezing rain, trying to replace the damaged section. They carry the proper tools, the correct replacement parts, and a maintenance manual that specifies exactly how the repair should be done. Everything by the book. Everything according to Henschel engineering specifications.

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